Trigger Happy...

So what do you do when you're bored on a Sunday night at the Smith House??
Set up a tripod and get out the dress up clothes of course! :)

These were taken off a tripod with a remote ...
(and you should note about 93% of them were taken by Ailey)
It really should also be noted that Etta was NOT excited about this photo shoot.
And lastly it should be noted that I'm a dufus and didn't realize one of camera settings was wrong... so the awesome grain in these (which is annoying me to no end right now) was a total mistake.

Oh well - we'll do it again sometime and hopefully the latter two of those things will be better :)

For GG...

For GG...
Ailey wanted you to see her wearing her birthday present :)
She LOVES it!

More of both girls to come soon...

One of Those Days...

Today has just been one of those days... 
Forgive me as this may be a more honest look into my heart than you might want... 
(or really feel free to skip reading this all together and go to my next post where there are some cute pictures of my kiddo in a graduation hat) :) 


Life right now feels in a word....   stressful.   disconcerting.  good.  super up and down.
(okay, well that's four words...forgive me.)
I'm feeling stressed about life in general, much more so than usual.  
Stress about the house selling in time... 
stress about being a good mom... 
about getting enough sleep... 
about whether or not my 5year old will ever recover from this time in our lives...  
about whether or not I will recover  


Moving is just stressful. No way around it.   


To be fair, there are many things I'm looking forward to. 
I've already planned to squeeze my homesick lemons into lemonade that tastes like sunsets, warm sand, palm trees and lazy Sunday afternoons. And truthfully, I like that lemonade.  But this weekend, the protective barrier I've been building of making the best  of raising my family away from (some of) those I love is being challenged.
  
I'm really ultimately hoping that maybe you can have the best of both worlds. Where sometimes it's hard, but most of the time you make it work. Where being home and going home mean two different things but somewhere in between, there's a happy middle.

I'm convinced we'll find it, whatever it is.
But for today... (break for a long sigh) 
Today I need to figure out how to sweeten the current batch of lemonade we're mixing.
Because really, a good glass of sweet lemonade might just help with all the stress.

Preschool Graduation...

This year has been one of marker points in our lives - 

and for Miss Ailey the graduation from preschool is a pretty big one.

I don't have many words today but enjoy a few pics from this morning's events... 

    (Ailey's favorite preschool friend - Gabrielle)                              (Ailey's Teachers)

And of course - you can't truly be a graduate without 'throwing your hat' --
LOVE that first shot. 

(wish you could see the hat a little more... but it'll do)

And with that toss and a few giggles...  Miss Ailey is on to Kindergarten.

Mother's Day...

There are days like these...  Days when my heart feels like it is going to burst.

It's Sunday afternoon, the family is asleep, the living room is aglow with sunlight and warmth... jack jack is tucked in next to me, and here i am...just replaying my day. my week. five years of every blessed moment this motherhood thing has granted.  And somewhere between flipping through pictures of my girls this morning to watching my sleeping baby rest on her daddy's chest, I had a moment.  Or rather moments...  moments where I wanted to join hands with any other woman in this world who loves life, sends kisses into the universe, sings a baby to sleep, finds solace in memories of being loved, draws inspiration from it all and has a moment to spare to grab my hand, sing kumbaya and shout out to the world that we are grateful. Yes, crazy as it sounds, I had moments like that today.

I feel a bit biased celebrating this holiday having been blessed this year with the chance to partake in every bit of a marvelous heaven that having Etta provides in my life.  She brings so much joy and a new chapter to a relatively dark time.  And my first born... my beautiful first born... there will always be a special bond among us first-borns.  After all, it was she who made me a 'mother.'  But truly, her joy for learning spills into my life and moves me forward to experience more, love more, give more, share more....   


I realize today in full, my motherly aspirations and intentions are molded by them both.  
Their hearts seep goodness into our family every day and for that alone...I am a better mama.
It's a constant and beautiful journey...one I don't even realize I'm on sometimes.


To my mom, mother-in-law, and grandma...Happy mother's day to you all.  
I will always aspire to love my littles as I have been loved by you.  <3

Hi...

HI.

My name is Emily...

and I have a problem.

I cannot stop photographing my little every time Ailey takes a nap.

(okay, maybe two addiction problems... I sort of love giant headbands too.)

seriously... you can understand my addiction right!?!

Annnnnnnnnnd.... to give you an update on us...

We're all doing well - getting enough sleep. (3-4 hours at a time at night... which is pretty good)

Ailey is adjusting well - and seems to love being a big sister.

She's been a little more emotional than usual these days but really, she's been good...

And honestly, she's adjusting better than Jack-Jack

who just looks at us dejectedly as he lays on the far end of the couch.

(which for those of you that have been around us know is weird

as he's usually squished between one of us and a couch arm)

A few things to note -

Etta goes back to the dr this week for a weight check - I'm thinking we're okay...

her cheeks are definitely filling out and she seems super content most of the time -

but I'm still kind of holding my breath till we go get formally checked.

Ailey graduates from preschool in 2.5 weeks...

and then we will have a (sigh..........) Kindergartener.

(Double Sigh.)

I think I'm ready for this... well, either way she's ready.

She keeps telling us she's ready to ride the bus.

(I am so not ready for this.)

Andrew is continuing his transition at church...

They did a gorgeous rendition of 'Prayer of the Children' this morning.

(a beautiful men's choral number...)

Other than that - I'm keeping him busy changing diapers and such-

have I mentioned how great of a Dad he is...

(just in case I haven't, he's the best)

And me...   well, my blood pressure is still elevated - so we're watching that...

I'll go back to the office in a few weeks to discuss options if it doesn't come down.

I'm trying not to worry as that I'm sure makes it worse.

And did I mention I have an addiction... yep, I do.

It's to two littles... and a daddy that loves them very much.